Sunday 31 July, 2005
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Francesco Totti claims that Sami Kuffour will fill the void left by Walter Samuel and warns teammate Antonio Cassano that he has much to learn.
“Kuffour is the new Samuel for Roma and a crucial player for this team,” said the captain. “He is the kind of man who can make the difference.”
The former Bayern Munich defender is one of three new signings who have arrived on free transfers – along with Shabani Nonda and Rodrigo Taddei – but their position is in doubt due to FIFA’s embargo.
Samuel left a gaping hole in the Roma defence when he joined Real Madrid last year and will now return to Serie A for Inter, despite claiming at the time that he’d never wear another Italian club jersey.
“I’ve heard many former Roma players make the same statement, then they wound up playing against us,” added Totti. “It’s a decision that must nonetheless be respected, as he didn’t have a good season in Madrid. If I were Inter I’d have certainly signed him. Mind you, if I were in charge of Roma then I wouldn’t have sold him in the first place.”
The Giallorossi legend claimed this week that Roma could challenge for the Scudetto this season, though his tip is at the San Siro with his former teammate Samuel.
“Inter are the team who have made the most reinforcements this summer, unfortunately with players I’d have loved at Roma, while Juventus and Milan will always be favourites. I am still sure that we can play our part in the title race.”
Totti has only ever played for his hometown club and is the natural choice for the captain’s armband, but new Coach Luciano Spalletti caused controversy by removing Antonio Cassano from the list of vice-captains in favour of Christian Panucci and Vincenzo Montella.
“I respect the decisions made by the Coach,” added the Italian international. “He sets the rules and Antonio has to mature. I don’t know how he’ll react to this situation, so you’ll have to ask him yourself. I always give Cassano advice, but only in when face to face, not through the headlines of newspapers.” |
發表於 2005-8-1 09:51:32
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